Ex-mayor Keeps Heat On In Plantation

PLANTATION — Six months have passed since Frank Veltri stepped down as Plantation's mayor, but more than two decades at the helm won him plenty of staying power.

Stop by City Hall on any given Wednesday night and you're likely to see the 87-year-old watching his former colleagues from a seat near the back, or rising to the microphone to tell them off, at their televised City Council meetings.

To Veltri, nothing could be more natural.

"I'm still active. Some may like it, others may not," said Veltri, who led the city for 24 years. "I'd voice my opinion on what the city does. I just hope they'll listen in the same way I listened to people when I was up there."

Whether he is triggering a furor -- as he did in July when the council debated whether he had the right to thousands of dollars in back pay -- or working on influential city committees, Veltri did not leave the public eye when he left public office in March.

And even residents who didn't care for Veltri as a politician concede that when he speaks, people in Plantation listen.

"Even in his retirement, he influences people," said George Lord, 73, a longtime homeowner in the city and frequent attendee at council meetings. "He's been around so long that people are used to him. He's a power."His oratories -- which first-year Mayor Rae Carole Armstrong and council members generally absorb without comment -- have included questioning their purchase of a $10,300 sound system for the council auditorium, and blasting them for denying a sweeter pension for city employees.

"He's got a right to get up there and say those things," said resident Stan Johnson, whose sat through a few Veltri speeches. "He's a little more subdued now. I'd rather hear some fresh voices, personally."

Dressed casually and speaking in a tone varying between formal and familiar, Veltri -- one of Broward's last strong mayors, who retired with a $88,000 salary -- could easily be mistaken for any longtime Plantation resident. And that's how the elected officials insist they accept his comments.

They weren't surprised by the topics Veltri had chosen.

"Everything is very black and white with Frank, there's very little gray," said veteran Councilman Ralph Merritt, a friend of Veltri's. "And financial things are all black -- there's no gray."

The former mayor made one of his more memorable arguments last May, when he denounced a proposed ordinance to require more screening of mobile homes, trailers and other vehicles parked alongside houses. The council risked "taking the family out of Plantation," with the tighter regulations, he said.

The rules -- which also drew opposition from a homeowners' association -- were sent out for more work, and haven't come back.

"He's had an influence in it, sure," said Councilman Lee Hillier, who proposed the regulations. "He's always fought it. The city needs to refine and implement it as soon as possible, because the public expects the city to remain a beautiful place."

Veltri's most controversial return to the spotlight came in July, when a city investigation revealed he was awarded $44,000 in unused sick leave and vacation pay over 10 years, payments attorneys found he wasn't entitled to receive.

After a three-week standoff, Veltri reimbursed the city -- under protest.

"I don't think most people care about it," said Lord, who was frustrated by Veltri's acceptance of the money. "Most people say he was entitled to it, or they don't know enough about it."

The dispute hasn't made Veltri any less dogged in taking his case before the council. Two weeks ago, he warned against a change in the retirement plan for city employees.

"Are we doing this for the benefit of the employees or the city?" Veltri said, banging his fist on the lectern, his voice rising. "Our employees are our most important assets in this city."

Those remarks earned a testy response from Council President Bruce Edwards, who sees potential savings and flexibility for city workers in different plans.

"I believe the city's most important assets are our customers, the citizens," he told Veltri, during a heated exchange. "That's OK, some people like vanilla, some like chocolate."

Veltri also was recently appointed to the city's powerful zoning board by City Councilman Jerry Fadgen, a longtime ally.

Where once he had a say in the final approval or rejection of projects, he now will be charged with working with developers and attorneys on the minutiae of million-dollar deals -- such as reviewing building designs and city codes -- and passing recommendations on to the council.

"I know it's hard for him to sit back," said Herb Thomas, a resident and longtime member of the Zoning Board. "Because he's been mayor, he didn't have to go through all these things.''

Some residents have suggested Plantation city leaders fear Veltri might return to run for office against them, and that they have sought to play up the debates over his vacation and sick leave, to wound him politically.

Veltri said it's too early for him to judge the council's, or Mayor Armstrong's, performance. And getting back into government was far from his mind, he said.

"Right now, I would not want any political job, here or anywhere else," he said, then added with a chuckle, "That's today. A man can change his mind."

Sean Cavanagh can be reached at 954-572-2009 or scavanagh@sun-sentinel.com.